5 Apps Google Cannot Be Allowed To Ruin With AI

Google I/O is just over a week away, and if last year was any indication, you can expect Google to focus almost entirely on its AI output during this year’s keynote. Over the past several years, we’ve watched as practically every app or service touched by this company has migrated to AI-enhanced products. From Photos to Docs, Gmail to Meet, it’s almost impossible not to see that little sparkle icon somewhere in a Google product.

That said, Google has yet to touch every element of its business. It’s pretty tricky, but if you look closely, you can still find plenty of products that either keep their AI elements optional to the point of non-existence, or apps that have yet to be touched by AI at all. While Google has proven itself to be (mostly) thoughtful about when and where it adds Gemini into the mix, I’d prefer for these five applications to remain as AI-free as, well, humanly possible.

5 Emoji Kitchen puts Apple’s Genmoji to shame

And it’s entirely because of the artists behind it

Source: Google

Gboard isn’t just the best keyboard on Android — it’s the best virtual keyboard ever designed. Not only are its autocorrect abilities excellent and its customization top-notch, but bonus features like auto-generating stickers from text and Emoji Kitchen make Gboard a really fun way to communicate with your friends. Emoji Kitchen started — as so many 2010s Google projects — as a creative addition to Android, but it’s grown into something I use when texting practically every day.

So I hope I don’t sound like too much of a pessimist when I say AI would absolutely ruin Emoji Kitchen. I don’t need to see a genAI-powered Emoji Kitchen replacement in action to know it wouldn’t work — Apple’s already proven that for me. Genmoji is an absolute embarrassment in my eyes, especially when compared to the manually-designed selection Google puts on display, and nothing I’ve seen from apps like Pixel Studio makes me think the experience would be any different on Android. Please, Google, keep Emoji Kitchen away from all things Gemini — it’s not necessary.

4 Google Keep should remain an AI-light notepad

And it’s all I need to organize my to-do lists, reminders, and scattered thoughts

What to make of Keep these days? Google still pays some amount of attention to its longtime notes app, even if it feels like the guillotine could fall for Keep at any moment. Outside of a Material You-themed makeover — something that’s about to be out of date in just a couple of weeks anyway — Google Keep feels like the same app I used in college a decade ago to keep track of my upcoming assignments. Rather than leaving the app feeling dated, though, it feels reliable in a way plenty of AI-heavy notes apps don’t.

Now, Keep already has a bit of AI spice to it, as starting up a new note will prompt you with assistance in creating a list. Frankly, I think this is pretty redundant — who’s going out of their way to make a list while simultaneously not knowing what should be in said list? — so, for this particular exercise, I’m choosing to ignore it. Frankly, Keep is not the sort of spot that needs writing tools, Gemini responses, or anything else that might fit better into a space like Docs. It exists for your unfinished tasks, shopping lists, and random assorted thoughts, and I think we should keep it that way.

3 Android Auto proves AI isn’t necessary for your next road trip

And if it is, keep it limited to the voice assistant

Source: Google

AI will inevitably come for Android Auto — Google is already working on replacing its all-but-depreciated Assistant with Gemini — but that’s not quite what I’m talking about here. I have no issue with Gemini jumping in as a better, safer way to interact with your phone while driving, but that’s where I want to see it end. No AI-suggested rest stops along a route, no AI-suggested cards cluttering up my Auto dashboard while I’m trying to drive. Modern infotainment systems are distracting enough as it is without having to deal with the attention that so many AI skills desperately desire.

If Google absolutely sees it necessary to bring more AI to Auto than just Gemini, let’s keep it to trip planners and other tasks designed to be handled before you hit the road. At the end of the day, most drivers only need their virtual assistants for a few necessary tasks: sending messages, activating navigation, selecting playlists. I’d like to see Google utilize Gemini’s language processing power to make those requests more accurate and more powerful — and then leave it at that.

2 Google Wallet needs AI about as much as my actual wallet

So, you know, not really at all

Like Keep, Wallet has already been lightly touched by AI, with Google utilizing the tech to “determine the kind of pass” being added through the app’s manual creator tool. Putting that aside, Wallet feels like the mobile payment system it’s been since the days of the original Google Wallet, prior to its (now undone) rebrand to Pay.

As much as I’m sure Google would love to turn Wallet into a payment hub that you open more frequently, I hope it stays as simple as possible. I don’t need AI-suggested credit card offers or a chatbot to help me manage my debt. I just need a place to store my payment methods, rewards cards, and movie tickets. There’s no sign of AI infecting Wallet with unnecessary additions any time soon, thankfully, and for my (lowercase-w) wallet’s sake, I hope that remains the case.

1 Google Flights is the easiest way to book a flight

And I don’t need a chatbot to do it

Every single time I have to travel for Android Police — and in 2024, that was almost always at least once per month — I turn to Google Flights. Not only is it one of the easiest ways to price shop and compare between various airlines (and, depending on where you’re flying, airports), but it also allows you to track prices, identify trends, and share itineraries with just a handful of clicks. It is, bar none, the simplest method for planning out your next trip, which undoubtedly makes it a target for “AI optimizations.”

AI-focused companies already love to identify travel as one of the best ways to use chatbots, but we’re starting to see a shift towards building LLMs directly into apps like Google Flights. Kayak launched a beta service that is designed to allow for more natural language requests, but I found it slow and cumbersome compared to Google Flights. Right now, Google’s experience is the opposite — you can enable Flights support within Gemini to experience an LLM-based itinerary builder, but Flights remains menu-based. Frankly, I hope it stays that way.

Not everything has to be AI, and that’s okay

AI may or may not be the future of technology — Silicon Valley sure wants you to think so. Even so, I think we can all agree that LLM-powered chatbots and other assorted AI tools don’t need to find their way into every aspect of our digital lives. Sometimes an app is just an app, a feature is just a feature. Leave the machine learning to where it actually fits in naturally, and I think you’ll find that the general population might have a better, more positive reaction when it actually shows up.